Esoteric Recordings is rightly known for its deluxe editions and box sets, but the Cherry Red imprint delivers the same high level of quality with its more modest releases. Today, we’re looking at the single-disc expanded editions of a trio of diverse rock classics released in late 2019.

Strawbs‘ ninth album, Deep Cuts, isn’t an album of rarities as the title might indicate. Instead, the 1976 album is, as lead vocalist David Cousins describes in the liner notes, “the best-sounding album Strawbs ever produced.” That was due, in no small part, to the creative contribution of co-producers Rupert Holmes and Jeffrey Lesser, fresh off their work on Barbra Streisand’s Lazy Afternoon and Holmes’ own remarkable singer-songwriter LPs. Armed with a strong ten songs penned by Cousins and bassist Chas Cronk, Holmes and Lesser nudged Strawbs into a more commercial, radio-friendly direction. With the group streamlined to four pieces (Cousins, Cronk, Dave Lambert, and Rod Coombes), extra texture came courtesy of famed arranger Robert Kirby on mellotron strings plus horns and winds; John Mealing on keyboards; and Holmes on piano, harpsichord, clavinet, and clarinet. Taking advantage of this expanded palette, Strawbs embraced romantic pop on the upbeat “I Only Want My Love to Grow in You” and the piano ballad “So Close and Yet So Far Away,” struck a retro note on the lovely “Wastin’ My Time (Thinking of You”), and went full-tilt widescreen on the dramatic “Beside the Rio Grande.” Esoteric’s reissue of this underrated album features seven bonus tracks including the epic “Blue Angel,” an edit of “Wastin’ My Time,” the single mix of “Charmer,” and the spoken-word recitation of “Rio Grande.” The 20-page booklet has Cousins’ essay (but unfortunately no discussion of the bonus tracks) as well as lyrics, allowing listeners to definitively re-assess this underrated classic.

Roy Wood earned his place in rock history as a founder of The Move, Wizzard, and of course, Electric Light Orchestra (for which he was awarded a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). In addition to his work in those groups, he’s also released four solo albums. 1975’s Mustard, newly reissued by Esoteric, was the second of those four, and certainly the most eclectic. Though some have referred to Mustard as Wood’s Pet Sounds, it’s more like his SMiLE – a wildly inventive, shape-shifting tour through a singular musical imagination. Few artists would record an album with inspirations as diverse as The Andrews Sisters, Led Zeppelin, and The Beach Boys, but that’s just what Wood did: singing (almost) all of the parts, playing every instrument, and even painting the cover. While Wood didn’t abandon his hook-filled pop prowess entirely (see “Any Old Time Will Do”), Mustard also offered a 1940s radio pastiche (the title track), an epic ballad (“The Rain Came Down on Everything,” featuring Annie Haslam), a bizarre Andrews Sisters-meets-John Mayall fusion with Wood sped up singing all parts (“You Sure Got It Now”), a seventies Brian Wilson-esque bounce (“Why Does a Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs”), and a Spector/Wilson-styled Wall of Sound explosion (“Look Thru the Eyes of a Fool”). There are dashes of classical and heavy rock throughout, too, as well as a Phil Everly guest vocal on “Get On Down Home.” Nearly 45 years later, Mustard is still a one-of-a-kind LP. Esoteric has expanded it with seven non-LP single sides from the same era. Malcolm Dome provides the liner notes in the 16-page booklet.

Alan Price, like Roy Wood, has had one of the most diverse careers in rock. The founding member of The Animals (and creator of the indelible organ parts on tracks like “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “House of the Rising Sun”) followed his tenure in that band by refining his craft as a top-flight singer-songwriter and broadening his artistic horizons by scoring films and stage musicals. Price’s soundtrack to the 1973 film O Lucky Man! deservedly earned him acclaim and a BAFTA award, and he followed that up with Savaloy Dip, a fusion of rock, R&B, and jazz which remained on the shelf until 2016. Undeterred, Price re-recorded “Between Today and Yesterday,” the closing song of Savaloy, as the title song of a new, unified concept album. Between Today and Yesterday was divided into two themes, one for each side. Side One represented “Yesterday,” with its songs drawing on Price’s working-class upbringing and the musical styles of the pre-rock era. Side Two, “Today,” reflected on the present, with the musical style shifted to a more current sound. Much of the album’s material was drawn from an abortive stage musical, Brass Band Man, on which Price was working. But the album’s most enduring song was written for a BBC documentary on the musician. “Jarrow Song” was inspired by the Jarrow Hunger March of 1936 in which 200 unemployed workers (many from a shuttered local shipyard) marched from Jarrow to London – roughly 397 kilometers, or 246 miles – to request the aid of the British government in bringing industry back to their community. It was a subject close to Price, as his father had died in an industrial accident when the artist was just six years old. Just one of the many socially-pointed songs on the album, “Jarrow Song” reached the top 10 in the U.K., as did the album itself. Esoteric has added the single versions of “Jarrow Song” and “In Times Like These” to the track listing, and a 12-page book is included with notes from reissue producer Mark Powell. Between Yesterday and Today remains timeless.

All three albums are housed in digipaks and have been remastered by Paschal Byrne. (Deep Cuts specifically indicates that the original master tapes have been utilized.) The titles are available now at the links below!

Strawbs, Deep Cuts (Polydor/Oyster 2391-234, 1976 – reissued Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 2702, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. I Only Want My Love to Grow in You
2. Turn Me Round
3. Hard, Hard Winter
4. My Friend Peter
5. The Soldiers’ Tale
6. Simple Visions
7. Charmer
8. Wasting My Time (Thinking of You)
9. Beside the Rio Grande
10. So Close and Yet So Far Away
11. You Won’t See the Light (previously issued in 2003 on Muskrat RATCD-4219)
12. Charmer (Single Mix) (Polydor/Oyster single 2066 744, 1976; previously unreleased on CD)
13. Wasting My Time (Thinking of You) (Edited Version) (previously unreleased)
14. Blue Angel (included on A Taste of Strawbs, Witchwood Media WMBS 2036, 2006)
15. Oh So Sleepy (included on A Taste of Strawbs, Witchwood Media WMBS 2036, 2006)
16. The Merchant Adventurer (included on A Taste of Strawbs, Witchwood Media WMBS 2036, 2006)
17. Beside the Rio Grande (Spoken Word Version) (source TBD)

Roy Wood, Mustard (Jet Records 2310 418, 1975 – reissued Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 2695, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Mustard
2. Any Old Time Will Do
3. The Rain Came Down on Everything
4. You Sure Got It Now
5. Why Does Such a Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs?
6. The Song
7. Look Thru the Eyes of a Fool
8. Interlude/Get On Down Home
9. Oh What a Shame
10. Bengal Jig
11. Rattlesnake Roll
12. Can’t Help My Feelings
13. Strider
14. Indiana Rainbow
15. The Thing Is This (This Is the Thing)

Tracks 9-10 from Jet single JET 754, 1975
Tracks 11-12 from Jet single JET 758, 1975
Track 13 from Jet single JET 761, 1975
Tracks 14-15 from Jet single JET 785, 1976

Alan Price, Between Today and Yesterday (Warner Bros. K 56032 (U.K.), 1974 – reissued Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 2694, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Left Over People
2. Away Away
3. Between Today and Yesterday
4. In Times Like These
5. Under the Sun
6. Jarrow Song
7. City Lights
8. Look at My Face
9. Angel Eyes
10. You’re Telling Me
11. Dream of Delight
12. Between Yesterday and Today
13. Jarrow Song (Single Version) (Warner Bros. (U.K.) single K 16372, 1974)
14. In Times Like These (Single Version) (Warner Bros. (U.K.) single K 16452, 1974)